US Congress moves to prohibit TikTok unless it severs connections with China

US politicians have voted to ban the popular video-sharing app TikTok unless its owner, the technology company ByteDance, sells it.

US House of Representatives I voted The app restriction bill on March 13th was approved by a vote of 352-65. The bill would require ByteDance, which is headquartered in China but incorporated in the Cayman Islands, to sell TikTok within six months due to concerns about its ties to China. The bill must pass one more vote in the U.S. Senate before it goes to President Joe Biden's desk. previously told reporters He will sign it into law.

Last week, as a smaller committee considered the Protecting Americans from Foreign Regulated Applications Act, TikTok users contacted their public representatives through the app to protest a potential ban. I received a notification reminding me to do so. Despite the flood of messages, lawmakers passed the bill out of committee on March 7 and approved it for a full vote this week.

TikTok enthusiasts aren't the only ones opposed to the bill. “The law that protects Americans from foreign regulatory filings is censorship, plain and simple,” he says. kate luan Member of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit organization that advocates for digital rights in the United States. “This is fundamentally flawed and would functionally act as a ban on TikTok in the United States.”

Despite these concerns, there is a bipartisan consensus in the United States that China's ruling Communist Party could force TikTok to hand over user data for behavioral tracking purposes. Although the app is just one of many online services that collect data about users, the U.S. and many other countries have classified TikTok as a “national security threat,” making it a government-owned company owned by public officials. The use of the app on terminals is prohibited. However, no evidence has been presented by any country to support these claims.

TikTok, which operates from offices in the US, UK and elsewhere, has always denied receiving data-sharing requests from the Chinese government and insists it will never hand over user information. However, Chinese law requires all companies operating in China, including ByteDance, to comply with government mandates.

TikTok itself called before The proposed bill violates the “First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans,” the number of app users in the United States. That number also includes many politicians, including Biden, who are debating the fate of TikTok.

tom devon The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, said the controversy surrounding the app was [TikTok’s] It has been shut down over concerns about data collection and surveillance, but it has used its huge audience to profit from its campaigns. ” He is prioritizing political maneuvering over real concerns and risks, such as alienating young voters, who are more likely to use TikTok, and increasing distrust of traditional media. I believe.